Celebrating Yellowstone Park

This post was written by Marybeth Kavanagh, Reference Archivist

As a previous blog post has explained, Yellowstone National Park was established by Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone was the first National Park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world. So we’re celebrating by sharing these stunning images taken by photographer William Henry Jackson.

Plate 30, Palace Butte Park. Y-f 1873.Jackson

geyser crater — Plate 10, Upper Fire-Hole Basin from the Crater of “Old Faithful” Y-f 1873.Jackson

falls — Plate 18, Lower Falls of the Yellowstone. Y-f 1873.Jackson

Survey team — Plate 3, Meeting of the U.S. Geological Survey in the Lower Fire-Hole Basin. Y-f 1873.Jackson

Jackson took these photographs as part of the Department of the Interior’s Geological Survey of the Territories, headed by geologist F.V. Hayden. They were published in 1873; the library holds a copy of the volume: Photographs of the Yellowstone National Park and views in Montana and Wyoming territories.

The Declaration of Sentiments: "No more or less radical than the American Revolution"

March 31, 2016

This post was written by Maureen Maryanski, Reference Librarian for Printed Collections. As Women’s History Month draws to a close, let’s focus on one of the founding documents of American feminism: the Declaration of Sentiments. Drafted, debated, and signed during the first women’s rights convention at Seneca Falls, New York in July 1848, the Declaration enumerates the legal, economic, and social inequalities existing between women and men – and the signers’ commitment to fight for equality....Read More

The Drag Queen Stroll: Jeff Cowen and 1980s New York City

September 11, 2013

This article is written by Joe Festa, Manuscript Reference Librarian. Jeff Cowen, a contemporary art photographer born in New York City, is best known for his portraits and collages, and a painterly approach to his photographic process. Five gelatin silver prints by Cowen are housed within the Photographer File here at New-York Historical Society. Taken early in the artist’s career, these images illustrate Cowen’s artistic practice prior to his formal study at the Art Students League...Read More

The Eagle Pencil Strike of 1938

March 30, 2017

This post was written by Reference Archivists Marybeth Kavanagh and Joseph Ditta.

March 30th is National Pencil Day! On this date in 1858 Hymen L. Lipman (1817-1893) of Philadelphia received the first patent for a pencil with an attached eraser. (You can read his application online at this link.) Dixon Ticonderoga might have a monopoly on the production of the no. 2 pencil today, but there once were numerous producers in the U.S. One of the biggest was...Read More

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